1 - Setting the scene
Last week I told you the romantic tale of the first Tall Ships festival that came to my home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The year was 1984 - I was 19, my sister was 16, and a trek down to the waterfront to see the huge Russian tall ship resulted in my sister and one of the Russian sailors falling for one another.
We met the Kruzenshtern again when it sailed into Sydney Harbour in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Michelle and Rashid spent every second together, as if it were the last they would ever see of each other.
Because it was.
After writing to each other for two years, Rashid was drafted into the Soviet army and presumably sent to Afghanistan. Though my sister and I had obtained travel visas and were planning a trip to see Rashid in his hometown, political reality crushed their plans - and we never heard from Rashid after that.
2 - Fast-forward 25 years to 2009.
After living in Toronto for over a decade, both my sister and I returned home to Halifax. I'm now married and my sister is in a long term relationship with a truly wonderful man.
When we heard that the Kruzenshtern was due to arrive in Halifax this summer for the 2009 Tall Ships event, we knew we would go aboard her together - for old times' sake.
3 - Last Thursday, July 16th, all the ships arrived in port and I went down to the harbour front on my own to see them.
It was a heart-swelling moment when I first laid eyes on the masts of the Kruzenshtern high above Pier 23. And definitely bittersweet.
The route for the tall ships event included stops in Hamilton, Bermuda and Charleston, South Carolina - and between those two ports the Kruzenshtern lost the top half of the foremast in nasty weather.
In this 1984 photo, you can see Rashid waving to my sister from the middle yard, just to the right of the mast.
The part of the mast where he stood is now missing.
The remains are now secured on deck.
4 - On Sunday, July 19th, my sister and I drove over to Halifax, parked in the south end and walked down to Pier 23. Though the configuration of the docks has altered in 25 years, the Kruzenshtern was moored in the same basic area as it was when we spent all those hours talking to him over the side of the ship. Its immense size means there's only one real place it can be accommodated - where the modern cruise ships now dock.
Rashid once stood where that Russian cadet stood, at the bottom of the gangplank. That's how we met him in the first place. We just started chatting with him. Imagine.
Of course there was a line-up to get aboard. We had to wait for a bit, until enough visitors disembarked.
This is my sister once again boarding the Kruzenshtern after all these years. 
5 - Surreal!
Talk about Flash-back City.
Everything on deck was just as it was when we were last aboard. Except for our missing friends, of course. Especially Rashid.
6 - Some things were exactly the same, but so many things were magically different. See where Rashid was standing in 1984? During the time when the Iron Curtain was in place, most of the Kruzenshtern was off-limits to the public. Only the central section of the upper deck was allowed to visitors, including my sister and me - even when we got secretly waved aboard when Soviet officials were elsewhere. 
On Sunday we were allowed to roam the entire length of the deck, from stem to stern. This shot was taken from the same location where Rashid stood in the picture above.
7 - The flag that flew from the stern of the ship in 1984 was of course the red hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union. 
This time it was the restored flag of the Russian Federation.
The traditional Russian flag was first flown in the mid-1600's, and was restored to use in 1991. After a 70-year blip, Russia is Russia once more.
8 - In the some-things-don't-change category: apparently I'm a big fan of salmon pink.
This is me wearing salmon pink capris, standing beside Valery in 1984. 
And this is me wearing a salmon pink t-shirt, standing beside one of the ship's wheels this past Sunday.
9 - But you can bet there weren't any tables selling souvenirs in 1984. The evils of capitalism, don't you know.
This year, however, I bought myself a lovely baseball cap with a picture of the Kruzenshtern embroidered on the front, along with the name in Cyrillic script. 
10 - In the knock-me-over-with-a-feather category: When the Kruzenshtern was here in 1984, the Soviet state was officially atheist. Although when the universe kept smoothing the way for my sister and Rashid to spend time together - when everything was stacked against them - the Russian sailors often pointed to the sky and indicated they believed God was stepping in. 
But who knew this magnificent chapel was hiding behind water-tight iron doors aboard ship?
Just amazing.
11 - We'd never seen this beautiful carved bench before. But it looks old enough to have been already old in 1984. 
It was up there on the aft section of the deck.
12 - The thing that touched us the most about this visit from the Kruzenshtern was seeing one or two Russian cadets free to roam around Halifax however they wanted.
In the Soviet era, they were barely allowed off the ship - and then, only in groups of a dozen or even twenty. Accompanied of course by official minders.
Not anymore!
Before we left the ship, we talked to an extremely handsome crew member - I'm serious. He was model-gorgeous. We asked whether there was a Rashid Kamalov on board.
We didn't expect him to be there - and he wasn't. Rashid was a cadet from a marine college when we met him, and the sailors aboard the current Kruzenshtern are cadets from the same college. But there is regular crew, as well, so we had to ask. Just in case. 
13 - The Parade of Sail took place Monday, beginning at 12:00. Lucky for me - yes, really really lucky! - I work right down on the waterfront. And my lunch is from 12:00 to 1:00. I enjoyed the Parade of Sail with tons of other people. I love hanging out with the masses.
However, the Kruzenshtern is the diva of the tall ships, and didn't head into the harbour until I was back at work. I was quite down about missing her, but my friend Tracy raced past me on her way to see the ships at 2:00, saying, "The Russian one's going now!"
I asked one of the women from my team to cover my position for five minutes while I raced out and caught the Kruzenshtern making her majestic way along the harbour. 
I knew it would take awhile for the ship to make its way down to my building. I returned to work for a bit, then asked my manager if I could high tail it back to the waterfront to watch her depart. Of course he said yes!
Here the Kruzenshtern follows behind the Cisne Branco from Brazil.
Goodbye, beloved.
Hope it's not too long before I see you again.
Here's a time lapse camera version of 2009's Parade of Sail.
The tall ships appear at the 1:20 mark.
When the fire boats turn on their spray at the 2:45 mark, the parade is officially underway.
The Kruzenshtern enters the harbour from the right at the 4:55 mark, and is seen best at the 5:12 mark.
Janet in Michigan says I am so happy to find one of you girls. Oh I can't believe how much you look like Aunt Sheila in the photo where I can only see your nose and eyes.
Hootin' Anni says Love the memories, and the time forward to today. Great idea.
Hazel says I must say my heart sank when I read - "Because it was." Can't help wondering where could Rashid be now.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thursday Thirteen - 116 - 13 Things About Travelling 25 Years Back in Time
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Summer Stock Sunday - 8
If you've been following my tale of my sister's once-upon-a-magical-summer-romance (scroll to previous post) you'll recall that my last glimpse of the Russian tall ship Kruzenshtern was in 1984, as she sailed out of Sydney harbour in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
It was the first tall ships event here in Nova Scotia, and my sister had fallen for a sailor aboard the Kruzenshtern - a hard thing to do, when you recall that in 1984 the crew was monitored at all times by Soviet authorities aboard ship, and the cadets were kept in groups if they went ashore, and kept aboard at all other times.
It was painful to say goodbye to Rashid Kamalov, a cadet from the marine college in Kaliningrad. That's him at left with a fellow cadet on that last morning, when my sister and I drove onto the wharf with an official pass she'd gotten from a Canadian sailor so we could see them off.
They exchanged addresses in the days before internet and email, in the days before glasnost and the fall of the Iron Curtain.
It seemed to take forever - but finally an air mail envelope arrived in our mailbox.
It was from Rashid.
My sister had sent letters to all three addresses he'd given her: the college, his mother's and his grandmother's. But his mother and grandmother - being concerned, I suppose, for their son and grandson - didn't pass along the letters from a dangerous foreign girl in the age of the KGB. Rashid spent time at home after returning from his around-the-world trek thinking Michelle hadn't written to him. The letter my sister got whispered of the hurt he'd felt, while brimming with hope that she still might return his feelings.
Michelle wrote back, assuring him that all was just as it was when he'd left Canada.
Finally he returned to the college - and a collection of my sister's letters waiting there for him.
Thus began a two-year correspondence between my sister and Rashid. We even obtained travel visas and planned a trip to see Rashid in his home town of Yaroslavl.
But one day a post card arrived, in Rashid's old-fashioned handwriting, telling my sister he'd been drafted into the Soviet army and would be there for two years. In 1986, the Soviet Union was deep in their war with Afghanistan.
We've never heard from Rashid since. Our family moved from the address he had for Michelle. He was obviously no longer at the college. His mother wasn't a reliable contact. And very likely, he served in Afghanistan.
We've Googled him, naturally. Hunted for him on Facebook. I discovered there's a soccer player named Rashid Kamalov. Not our guy, of course.
25 years have gone by. My sister has found a partner in a truly wonderful man named Newt.
But there's always been a hanging thread dangling from that summer so long ago. Rashid has never left our thoughts. How could he?
So this past Thursday, when the Kruzenshtern once again sailed into Halifax Harbour for Tall Ships 2009, I made a beeline for the four-masted Russian barque.
When I rounded the corner by the park in front of the train station, and saw the huge masts high over the top of Pier 23, I literally grabbed my chest over my heart.
My sister and I are going aboard the ship tomorrow during public visiting hours. But I couldn't wait to see the ship - I went down by myself after work, happy to have this time to get close to such a huge figure from our past.
As I walked along this road towards the ship, I passed two men in civilian clothes speaking Russian. How my heart soared with joy that things have changed so drastically. They can get off the ship without official babysitters dogging their every step.
But look at the sailors! They're so cute.
And so young...
For more Summer Stock Sunday, visit Robin at Around the Island.
Ms Snarky Pants says Well there is one Rashid Kamalov on Facebook... Yes, I had to search. ;) Just call me a Facebook stalker, even in stories that have nothing to do with me. hehehe
Michelle Johnson says Surely the technology we have these days would yield something. Have you tried Twitter?
Mama Pajama says I am glad that your sister has found happiness...I hope Rashid has, as well!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday Thirteen - 115 - 13 Things About the Most Romantic Story You'll Ever Hear
If you're anything like me, the idea that 39 tall ships will sail into my home port of Halifax Harbour is enough to send you into paroxysms of joy.
I have always been attracted to these majestic ladies of the sea for as long as I can remember. So when the first Tall Ships Festival arrived here 25 years ago in the summer of 1984, my sister and I went down to the transformed waterfront filled with awe, our necks cricked up to stare at the forest of masts, the elaborate rigging, to see the faces of sailors from all over the world and hear languages spoken we'd only heard in movies.
We didn't know that we were walking towards the most incredible summer of our lives - the Summer of My Sister's Russian Sailor.
1 - In 1984, I was 19 years old and not involved with anyone. I'd broken up with my second boyfriend and wouldn't start another relationship for another five years - until I began going out with the man who would become my husband.
My sister was 16 and not involved with anyone, either. We were single, and pretty much bowled over by the handsome sailors who had invaded our city.
In particular, we'd always had a thing for Russians. We'd always been attracted to that country, perhaps because we were passionate ballet lovers and thought Mikhail Baryshnikov was unbearably good-looking as well as the most gifted dancer alive.
So that summer night 25 years ago, we approached the Russian star vessel of the festival with the same excitement fluttering in our stomachs as though we were about to shake hands with Baryshnikov himself. 
2 - Standing at the foot of the gangplank were two sailors from the breathtakingly regal Kruzenshtern. It was foggy that night, nothing out of the ordinary for Halifax. The damp weather didn't keep a good number of sightseers from strolling past the ships. Once we began talking with this trusted ambassador for his country - because, when you think of it, they left him on dry land where he could have made a dash for it if he'd been so inclined - we lost all inclination to see any other ship.
That magical thing had happened, the thing that happens in movies and in the stories so many of us read or even write. My sister and this sailor locked gazes and fell for each other in an instant.
3 - His name was Rashid Kamalov. The first thing we noticed about him were his incredibly intense green eyes. I've never really seen anything like them since.
He spoke English very well, with a beautiful Russian accent, of course. His deep voice was warm and filled with good humour, and he laughed easily. He was a very manly 20 years old to our 16 and 19. 
4 - In 1984, Russia was referred to as the Soviet Union. The Iron Curtain was solidly in place. Two young people from opposite sides of this ideological divide had about as much hope of carving a place for themselves in that world as Juliet had of waking in her tomb before it was too late.
But what did my sister and Rashid know? 
5 - The Soviet authorities tightly controlled all public access to the Kruzenshtern, so most of the time we spent with Rashid occurred when the ship allowed people aboard, or the few times supervised groups were let off the ship to march in a city-wide parade, attend a dance for all the ships' crews and for one supervised stroll around the downtown area of Halifax. Most of the time we simply talked to each other over the side of the ship.
The magical part of this time began immediately and carried on throughout both Nova Scotia stops for the Kruzenshtern. The Iron Curtain seemed to part for awhile, and circumstances and timing arranged themselves so that Rashid's free time coincided with these official treks onshore, and mine and my sister's work schedules cleared so that we could be together. The sailors aboard the ship were mainly cadets from a marine college, as well as regular crew and a contingent of quite obvious KGB officers! Hilarious.
My sister and I quickly discovered an unknown characteristic of Russians. They like to weasle their way past forbidden obstacles. They're masters at sweet-talking a commanding officer into letting two Canadian girls on board when most of the Soviet authorities are somewhere else. And here's the biggest surprise we discovered. Russians are the biggest bunch of romantics that ever were.
Soon, the whole ship's crew were in on the conspiracy of helping Rashid and his Canadian sweetheart steal a moment or two together. 
6 - The ship sailed out of Halifax harbour during the incredible Parade of Sail. Of course, for Michelle and I, it was another moment of divine intervention.
Only official people were allowed down on the docks that morning as the tall ships made ready for sail. The enormous size of the Kruzenshtern meant it was moored in the container pier, and access was controlled for the Parade of Sail by cordoning off the piers with actual metal ship-and-train containers. Do you think that would stop my sister?
We did the old decoy maneuver. While I chatted with the security guard along with other people, Michelle slipped past the end container, along a narrow concrete ridge high above the water. I watched her walk bold as brass all around the pier building. When no one brought her back in about half an hour, I followed. Heart pounding, mind you.
We were able to say goodbye to Rashid and the other sailors we had befriended by then. We promised to meet them when they returned to Nova Scotia several weeks later, in Sydney, Cape Breton.
7 - What an agony of waiting until the tall ships were due to arrive in Sydney.
We drove up to Cape Breton with a friend of mine, and stayed at her aunt's place for a few nights. My friend had to get back to Halifax before the final Parade of Sail out of Sydney, so Michelle and I stayed at a camp ground for the last few nights.
On the day when the ships were scheduled to arrive in Sydney harbour, I discovered that 'time stands still' is not just a figure of speech.
But finally - finally! - there it was.
The sailors were all arranged along the yards horizontal to the masts. My friend quickly confirmed that they were all waving at Michelle and me. You can see Rashid waving at my sister - he's on the center yard, right hand side, closest to the mast. He's got a dark beret on. 
8 - For five magnificent days, my sister and her Russian sailor had their bubble of happiness, and nothing could burst it.
L to R - Rashid, Michelle and Vitaly
L to R - Vitaly, Rashid, Michelle and Nik
9 - One of Rashid's close friends onboard was Yuri Bondaryenko.
We spent most of our time as a little group of four: Rashid, Michelle, Yuri and me.
Yuri and I never discussed it out loud - we just knew it when we looked at each other. Our jobs were to make sure Michelle and Rashid had as much time together as possible. And that's what we did.
10 - Once again, things magically arranged themselves and we were in the right place at the right time when Rashid was allowed off the ship to visit other vessels - in a supervised group, of course. A man who looked like he'd stepped out of 1965 followed us everywhere. But we didn't care. We went aboard a few other ships, got some ice cream and enjoyed every second of it.
We discovered a few more things about Russians. These ones, anyway. We realized that all the sailors aboard this ship were definitely handpicked as shining examples of the best that Russia had to offer. Not only did the tall ships make us feel like we'd travelled back in time. The manners of these men were very Victorian. They were all very gallant, offering us their arms instead of the more modern way of holding hands. They wouldn't exit a conversation unless my sister or I released them from it - even when their ice creams were melting!
Hospitality was very important to them. Whenever we spent a few hours on deck, basking in the luxury of being able to talk without having to do it over the side of the ship, Rashid's fellow sailors would come to us with chocolate, bread, apples, cigarettes - anything they had, they offered to us.
11 - The night before the ship sailed was completely sleepless. If I was going to be executed in the morning, I couldn't have felt any worse.
Michelle had secured an official pass this time from a sailor aboard one of the C-class Canadian vessels, who couldn't stand up to the onslaught of their love story. We drove onto the pier without any problem, and began the final few hours together before the Kruzenshtern sailed to France for the next leg of their journey.
As you can imagine, everyone tried to be brave but the mood was incredibly sad. Rashid was allowed to stay beside us while the other sailors got the ship ready to set sail. Sailor after sailor stopped a moment, motioned with their hands for us not to cry, and continued on.
All of a sudden, Rashid got the okay to come down the gangplank.
See? I told you - the Russians are a bunch of lovesick fools.
12 - You can't see him very well in the fog, but this is the officer who gave that okay for Rashid to dash on land to say goodbye to my sister.
Thank you, sir, for that. Wherever you are.
13 - At last, Rashid was ordered aloft.
There's Rashid in the same spot on the yard - center, closest to the right of the mast.
This is the last I saw of the Kruzenshtern.
Until tomorrow!
She'll be here for the 2009 Tall Ships Festival. And I'll be there - for old times' sake.
You can read a transcript of a conversation I taped while we were aboard.
If you are in the Halifax area, do yourself a favour and come down to the waterfront. Hope to see you there!
Kailana says That's an awesome story! It's the sort of thing that would happen in a movie. :)
Hazel says I didn't know Russians are romantics, thanks for mentioning that. This love story is beautifully told.
Michelle Johnson says I've been smitten with this story since you mentioned it here. I'm a sucker for a love story anyway.
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